[FIX] SH4 crash-to-desktop fix (memory issue)

bifutake · 02-14-13, 01:18 PM

CapnScurvy recommended i should start another thread so here it goes. i just recently started playing this game and almost immediately installed several mods. after a number of them, but specifically the "3000 meter bearing plotter tool", ctd's began plaguing me. you can read the entire troubleshoot if you follow the next link (posts 31-38):

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...05#post2008605

well, one of the main tools in solving this problem was a tiny application called the process monitor:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh....php?p=1732756

it helped me realize that the ctd was occurring when sh4.exe tried exceeding about 1.65 gb of ram. adding another 4 gig module (8 in total) didn't prove to be the solution i was looking for (i don't regret the purchase though because i was considering it for a while now). it still crashed at the exact same spot (~ 1.65 gb). just a quick note here, my os is win7 x64 so it was pretty obvious that the memory was available but somehow unreachable by the sh4.exe single process.

although CapnScurvy's link to the large address aware patch didn't help me per se (perhaps it's not win7 compatible but vista-only, i don't know), it did point me in the right direction. so after a long search with various keywords i finally ran into this excellent guide ("give silent hunter 4 a memory boost"):

http://www.subsowespac.org/the-patro...ry-boost.shtml

it gives a very thorough but extremely lucid walkthrough in the use of ntcore's explorer suite:

http://www.ntcore.com/exsuite.php

the first sentence is a bit misleading though because after the guide for 64-bit win7 users, there's another one for 32-bit win7, vista and xp users. i should emphasize the author's warning that the only minimum requirement, before you attempt applying this fix, is that you have at least 4 gb ram for 64-bit or 3 gb ram for 32-bit systems. otherwise, try disabling some of the mods and monitor your system's performance until you get it in acceptable working order.

hope it helps.

02-14-13, 01:24 PM

its been a long time since i fooled with things but there is a default setting for windows for telling it how much ram is allocated for things and this could be your issue.

im not talking about the 4gb ram fix (at least i dont think so) but you need to set up windows so it uses the correct amount of ram your system has

bifutake · 02-14-13, 01:34 PM

i have no issues anymore. this is a fix/guide thread for users trying to find a solution. i was one of these users until yesterday.

edit: i've added "[FIX]" in the beginning of the title. hope it's not a breach of forum policy?

edit2: it doesn't show on the board though...

John Channing · 02-14-13, 06:34 PM

It does now.

JCC

Onkel Neal · 02-14-13, 09:50 PM

And it has been added to the Master Thread: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=155786

bifutake · 02-14-13, 10:21 PM

much obliged.

02-15-13, 10:10 AM

"although CapnScurvy's link to the large address aware patch didn't help me per se (perhaps it's not win7 compatible but vista-only, i don't know), it did point me in the right direction."

My reply is to your statement as quoted as I am no expert on Windows, but, LAA when I ran it on Windows XP, Win 7 as provided by Bootcamp on Mac, results in the same thing as manually doing it using CFF Explorer. The 4gb patch executable does the same as well. Also, if on a 32 bit system I believe you do have to edit the Boot.ini as you describe, but I don't think you need to do that on a 64bit system (not sure). As you have discovered, the bottom line is that SH4 runs much better, with fewer CTDs (maybe even none) when you edit the SH4.exe to use 3gb memory. I wish this was a solution to "bad saves" as well, but I still get them, though less frequently. I applaud your diligence in bringing this to the forum.

bifutake · 02-15-13, 11:04 AM

until i stumbled upon cff (explorer suite), i tried both the laa app and the 4gb patch. laa app seemed fine but didn't produce any results (ctd's continued) and 4gb patch said:

Quote:

couldn't open executable!

only after i googled that walkthrough i realized that the cff was made by the same person/people who made the 4gb patch. i really don't understand why the first two didn't work for me but it appears that cff was my "third time lucky" moment.

AVGWarhawk · 02-15-13, 03:45 PM

Good deal. Thanks for posting. Will give it a go!

02-15-13, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bifutake

until i stumbled upon cff (explorer suite), i tried both the laa app and the 4gb patch. laa app seemed fine but didn't produce any results (ctd's continued) and 4gb patch said:

Probably u forgot to change the SH4.exe properties from read only.

bifutake · 02-16-13, 05:27 AM

crap! that's probably it.

there was no tutorial so i had no idea what i was doing.

Brenjen · 02-21-13, 07:56 PM

CFF is saying I can't save without renaming the file.....I hope to get this figured out because I love SH4 with mods but the CTD's have got me where I don't play it at all.

I noticed the read only tab was already unchecked in the SH4 properties tab as well when I opened it. I don't know if that's a problem as I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago & haven't been able to research at all, it's just an observation. And I'm using Windows7 64bit.

Edit: I figured out how to edit the properties by cutting/dragging the SH4 app file from the program files folder to my desktop, editing it there & saving it, then putting it back into the SH4 program files folder. The other problem I was having with Windows 7 still exists & that is that the SH4 app crashes after the intro movie. I've tried compatibility mode & running as administrator & still no dice.

Edit#2 - I have now fixed the blank screen freeze after the intro movies; it was a simple matter of unchecking the tab in the Nvidia control panel for the 3D manager from "use my emphasis on quality" to "let the 3D application decide" I can now use everything but the U-Boat missions add-on I bought in 2008 through Ubi & D2D.....since they changed the Ubi store & D2D was bought out by Gamefly there's no end to the headaches. Basically I have the original 1.5 patch/U-Boat add on file saved but my activation key no longer works. The only help I've gotten so far is "Is your firewall configured to let it through?.....It's turned off so I hope so lol

I'll never buy another game D/L; it's a disc or nothing from now on.

Front Runner · 03-10-13, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brenjen

Edit#2 - I have now fixed the blank screen freeze after the intro movies; it was a simple matter of unchecking the tab in the Nvidia control panel for the 3D manager from "use my emphasis on quality" to "let the 3D application decide" I can now use everything but the U-Boat missions add-on I bought in 2008 through Ubi & D2D.....since they changed the Ubi store & D2D was bought out by Gamefly there's no end to the headaches. Basically I have the original 1.5 patch/U-Boat add on file saved but my activation key no longer works. The only help I've gotten so far is "Is your firewall configured to let it through?.....It's turned off so I hope so lol

I'll never buy another game D/L; it's a disc or nothing from now on.

I had this same problem with getting the v1.5 U-Boat missions activated. It turns out that I had exceeded the activations limit. I posted a question describing my problem in the UBISOFT support section and after about 5 or 6 days I received an email from UBISOFT support stating that they had re-set my activations for v1.5 U-Boat missions. I attempted the activation again and this time I was successful in getting the v1.5 patch to activate.
UBISOFT support moves slow, but they do respond to your questions and in this case I did get a positive result with nothing more than a bit of patience.

I exceeded the activations over time by re-installing my OS several times after OS failures and/or hard drive crashes and then re-installing SH4 and v1.5 U-Boat missions multiple times on the same machine.

Don't give up on UBISOFT support, they will come through for you.
It may help to also post your problem on the UBISOFT support Facebook page.

Good luck.

Caelistis · 03-13-13, 11:32 PM

As a random aside, this is not problem in Win8 x64.

Currently, SH4 is eating 3.3GB of 30GB free without so much as a blink.

SilentPrey · 03-14-13, 01:02 PM

Thanks for posting this. As a steam user, I couldn't apply the 4 gig patch. This should correct my CTDs on returning to base.

02-14-13, 01:18 PM	#1
bifutake Watch Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 17 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	[FIX] SH4 crash-to-desktop fix (memory issue) CapnScurvy recommended i should start another thread so here it goes. i just recently started playing this game and almost immediately installed several mods. after a number of them, but specifically the "3000 meter bearing plotter tool", ctd's began plaguing me. you can read the entire troubleshoot if you follow the next link (posts 31-38): http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...05#post2008605 well, one of the main tools in solving this problem was a tiny application called the process monitor: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh....php?p=1732756 it helped me realize that the ctd was occurring when sh4.exe tried exceeding about 1.65 gb of ram. adding another 4 gig module (8 in total) didn't prove to be the solution i was looking for (i don't regret the purchase though because i was considering it for a while now). it still crashed at the exact same spot (~ 1.65 gb). just a quick note here, my os is win7 x64 so it was pretty obvious that the memory was available but somehow unreachable by the sh4.exe single process. although CapnScurvy's link to the *large address aware* patch didn't help me per se (perhaps it's not win7 compatible but vista-only, i don't know), it did point me in the right direction. so after a long search with various keywords i finally ran into this excellent guide ("give silent hunter 4 a memory boost"): http://www.subsowespac.org/the-patro...ry-boost.shtml it gives a very thorough but extremely lucid walkthrough in the use of ntcore's explorer suite: http://www.ntcore.com/exsuite.php the first sentence is a bit misleading though because after the guide for 64-bit win7 users, there's another one for 32-bit win7, vista and xp users. i should emphasize the author's warning that the only minimum requirement, before you attempt applying this fix, is that you have at least 4 gb ram for 64-bit or 3 gb ram for 32-bit systems. otherwise, try disabling some of the mods and monitor your system's performance until you get it in acceptable working order. hope it helps. Last edited by bifutake; 02-14-13 at 01:38 PM. Reason: link, title

02-14-13, 09:50 PM	#5
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,363 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	And it has been added to the Master Thread: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=155786 __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

02-15-13, 03:45 PM	#9
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 27,900 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Good deal. Thanks for posting. Will give it a go! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-21-13, 07:56 PM	#12
Brenjen Machinist's Mate Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: I live in The U.S. South Posts: 127 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 0	CFF is saying I can't save without renaming the file.....I hope to get this figured out because I love SH4 with mods but the CTD's have got me where I don't play it at all. I noticed the read only tab was already unchecked in the SH4 properties tab as well when I opened it. I don't know if that's a problem as I stumbled upon this a few minutes ago & haven't been able to research at all, it's just an observation. And I'm using Windows7 64bit. Edit: I figured out how to edit the properties by cutting/dragging the SH4 app file from the program files folder to my desktop, editing it there & saving it, then putting it back into the SH4 program files folder. The other problem I was having with Windows 7 still exists & that is that the SH4 app crashes after the intro movie. I've tried compatibility mode & running as administrator & still no dice. Edit#2 - I have now fixed the blank screen freeze after the intro movies; it was a simple matter of unchecking the tab in the Nvidia control panel for the 3D manager from "use my emphasis on quality" to "let the 3D application decide" I can now use everything but the U-Boat missions add-on I bought in 2008 through Ubi & D2D.....since they changed the Ubi store & D2D was bought out by Gamefly there's no end to the headaches. Basically I have the original 1.5 patch/U-Boat add on file saved but my activation key no longer works. The only help I've gotten so far is "Is your firewall configured to let it through?.....It's turned off so I hope so lol I'll never buy another game D/L; it's a disc or nothing from now on. __________________ “Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason" - Samuel Adams, American patriot Last edited by Brenjen; 02-22-13 at 02:53 PM.

03-13-13, 11:32 PM	#14
Caelistis Bilge Rat Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	As a random aside, this is not problem in Win8 x64. Currently, SH4 is eating 3.3GB of 30GB free without so much as a blink. __________________ Oberleutnant zur See Mueller 7th Flotilla U-750 \"KÃ¤mpfer\" www.wolvesatwar.com

02-14-13, 01:24 PM	#2
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	its been a long time since i fooled with things but there is a default setting for windows for telling it how much ram is allocated for things and this could be your issue. im not talking about the 4gb ram fix (at least i dont think so) but you need to set up windows so it uses the correct amount of ram your system has

02-14-13, 01:34 PM	#3
bifutake Watch Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 17 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	i have no issues anymore. this is a fix/guide thread for users trying to find a solution. i was one of these users until yesterday. edit: i've added "[FIX]" in the beginning of the title. hope it's not a breach of forum policy? edit2: it doesn't show on the board though...

02-14-13, 06:34 PM	#4
John Channing Sea Lord Join Date: Sep 1998 Posts: 1,846 Downloads: 156 Uploads: 5	It does now. JCC

02-14-13, 10:21 PM	#6
bifutake Watch Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 17 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	much obliged.

02-15-13, 10:10 AM	#7
jldjs Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	"although CapnScurvy's link to the *large address aware* patch didn't help me per se (perhaps it's not win7 compatible but vista-only, i don't know), it did point me in the right direction." My reply is to your statement as quoted as I am no expert on Windows, but, LAA when I ran it on Windows XP, Win 7 as provided by Bootcamp on Mac, results in the same thing as manually doing it using CFF Explorer. The 4gb patch executable does the same as well. Also, if on a 32 bit system I believe you do have to edit the Boot.ini as you describe, but I don't think you need to do that on a 64bit system (not sure). As you have discovered, the bottom line is that SH4 runs much better, with fewer CTDs (maybe even none) when you edit the SH4.exe to use 3gb memory. I wish this was a solution to "bad saves" as well, but I still get them, though less frequently. I applaud your diligence in bringing this to the forum.

02-16-13, 05:27 AM	#11
bifutake Watch Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 17 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	crap! that's probably it. there was no tutorial so i had no idea what i was doing.

03-14-13, 01:02 PM	#15
SilentPrey Navy Dude Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 171 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 2	Thanks for posting this. As a steam user, I couldn't apply the 4 gig patch. This should correct my CTDs on returning to base.